For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Institute President Elected to
US National Academy of Sciences
Says Dr. Peter Gleick: “This is a wonderful honor”

Contact: Ian Hart, media(at)pacinst.org or 510-251-1600

(Berkeley, Calif.) Awakened from a sound sleep at six o’clock this morning, Dr. Peter H. Gleick, president and co-founder of Oakland’s Pacific Institute, was told by a representative of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences that he had just been elected to the honorific society.

“This is a wonderful honor,” exclaimed Gleick, dashing out the door to testify before a California Assembly Committee in Sacramento in favor of a water efficiency bill. Although he is no stranger to national recognition, election into the NAS is a lifetime achievement. “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Academy’s prestigious body of elected members and I hope I can contribute to maintaining the integrity and quality of the nation’s science.”

According to the NAS website, “Members and foreign associates of the Academy are elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research; election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a scientist or engineer.” The Academy counts more than 200 Nobel Prize winners among its ranks.

“My goal with the Pacific Institute has been developing scientific analyses and information key to solving problems of economic development, environmental sustainability, and international security,” said Gleick. Gleick’s work has focused on fresh water, including reducing conflicts over shared resources, understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change, and satisfying basic human needs. “This honor from the NAS is testament to the importance of water issues, the need for high-quality science to inform policy makers, and the progress we have made in recognizing the human right to water.”

Dr. Gleick biography.

From the NAS website: “The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is an honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare.”

The Pacific Institute is dedicated to protecting the natural world, encouraging sustainable development, and improving global security. Founded in 1987 and based in downtown Oakland, the Institute provides independent research and policy analysis on issues at the intersection of development, environment, and security.

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